This was coming ! Redbull pilots Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington were expected to make history , but now they have their flying licenses being revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration for attempting a stunt without permission that led to one aircraft crashing.
Barring few with criticism on the attempt, aviation enthusiasts had glued their eyes to the event , that was being tried for the first time in aviation history. But , "plan didn't succeed" !
Earlier , On 22nd April , FAA had denied the request for such exemption , that was applied by Aikins, the lead pilot, decided "to move forward with [the] plane swap” and regrets "not sharing this information with my team and those who supported me,” a statement he posted April 29 reads.
FAA said,
“The attempted stunt resulted in the crash of one of the two single-engine Cessna 182 aircraft," "The lead pilot requested an exemption for the stunt from the FAA, which the agency denied.”
Penalty has been defined , both the pilots 'Aikins' and 'Farrington' are required to surrender their pilot certificates immediately, with a civil penalty of up to $1,644 for each day they fail to return their certificates.
Additionally, FAA has proposed a $4,932 fine against Aikins for abandoning his seat and operating an aircraft in a reckless manner, which failed the months of planning and training by the pilots.
The failed stunt, organized by Red Bull and broadcast live on Hulu, ended with Farrington parachuting to the ground when Aikins's Cessna 182 spun out of control and crashed.
Didn't go as per the Plan ! First Redbull 'plane swap' stunt turned out to be unsuccessful, as the aircraft went out of control to crash in Arizona . However no injuries have been reported.
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) April 25, 2022
???? Aaron Tevis @AaronTevis#aircraft #stunt #aerobatic #aviation #avgeek #pilots pic.twitter.com/rDiEGHnw1h
Aikins was able to regain the control and safely land Farrington's aircraft . No one was injured in the act .
Luke Aikins, 48, and Andy Farrington, 39, are seasoned skydivers and pilots , both part of the Red Bull Air Force aviation crew , and they are cousins.